Raquel Cruz Bono is a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy, and the former director of the

Defense Health Agency The Defense Health Agency (DHA) is a joint, integrated combat support agency that enables the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and United States Space Force, U.S. Space Force medical services to provide a medically ready force and ready med ...

. She currently serves as Chief Health Officer for Viking Cruises and a Senior Fellow for

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...

Applied Physics Laboratory.

Medical education

Commissioned in June 1979, Bono obtained her baccalaureate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and MD from the

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. She completed a surgical internship and a General Surgery residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, and a Trauma and Critical Care fellowship at the Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

Navy

Shortly after training, Bono saw duty in Operations

Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and Desert Storm as head, Casualty Receiving, Fleet Hospital Five in Saudi Arabia from August 1990 to March 1991. Upon returning, she was stationed at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth as a surgeon in the General Surgery department; surgical intensivist in the Medical/Surgical Intensive Care Unit, and attending surgeon at the Burn Trauma Unit at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Her various appointed duties included division head of Trauma; head of the Ambulatory Procedures Department (APD); chair of the Laboratory Animal Care and Use Committee; assistant head of the Clinical Investigations and Research department; chair of the Medical Records Committee, and Command Intern Coordinator. She has also served as the Specialty Leader for Intern Matters to the Surgeon General of the Navy. In September 1999, she was assigned as the director of Restorative Care at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, followed by assignment to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery from September 2001 to December 2002 as the medical corps career planning officer for the Chief of the Medical Corps. She returned to the National Naval Medical Center in January 2003 as director for Medical–Surgical Services. From August 2004 through August 2005 she served as the executive assistant to the 35th Navy Surgeon General of the Navy and Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Following that, she reported to Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Florida, as the commanding officer from August 2005 to August 2008. In September 2008, she became the chief of staff, deputy director Tricare Management Activity (TMA) of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Health Affairs (OASD(HA)). She reported as deputy director, Medical Resources, Plans and Policy (N093), Chief of Naval Operations in June 2010. VICE ADMIRAL RAQUEL C

In addition to being a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery, Bono is a

Fellow of the American College of Surgeons Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (or FACS) is a professional certification for a medical professional who has passed a set of criteria for education, qualification, and ethics required to join the American College of Surgeons. ''FACS'' ...

and a member of the

Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma The ''Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma'' is a 501(c)(3) medical association of American trauma surgeons. It has over 2,000 members who meet at an annual four-day conference. Its official journal is the '' Journal of Trauma and Acute Ca ...

. Her personal decorations include a

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

, three

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, and two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals. On March 22, 2020, Bono was named by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee to lead the state health system's response to the

2020 coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bono, Raquel C. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Texas at Austin alumni Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center alumni American intensivists Female admirals of the United States Navy Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal United States Navy Medical Corps officers 21st-century American women